The Wood suburb in Nelson, New Zealand.
Photograph: Photography by Tim Bow/Getty Images

Dutch explorer Abel Tasman didn’t get a warm welcome in Golden Bay in December 1642 when, 375 years ago this week, he became the first European to make landfall in New Zealand. The craft he sent to shore to collect water was rammed by Maori waka, and four Dutchmen were killed. The islands remained unvisited by Europeans until Captain Cook’s expedition 130 years later; a half-century further on, the settlement of Nelson, 50km south of the bay, was up and running, becoming New Zealand’s second city after Christchurch by royal charter in 1858. Now a compact city of approximately 50,000 known for the good life (it has three neighbouring national parks), it’s also – as marked up on Botanical Hill – the country’s geographical dead centre.

First encounter

Borrowed by the nearby national park, as well as the administrative district in which it lies, the Tasman name is now receding into a historical hinterland, too. With a mere NZ$25,000 budgeted for four days of activities up in Golden Bay, in collaboration with the Dutch embassy, the anniversary will be low-key. Next door in Nelson, the Dutchman is present, albeit beneath a layer of dust, says Halfdan Hansen, a luxury jeweller based in the city: “He’s there in the place names and the fabric – I went to Tasman Street School – but it’s not so relevant any more.”

Nelson in numbers

2-0 Score by which Nelson FC beat Nelson College on 14 May 1870 in New Zealand’s first ever rugby union match

2,840 Hours of sunshine in adjacent Richmond in 2016, the most ever recorded in New Zealand. The result caused some in Nelson, also proud of the local microclimate, to question the methodology

9.6% People who walk or jog to work in the city, compared to a national average of 6.8%

10.4% Maori population, against a national average of 15.8%

History in 100 words

Named after Britain’s naval poster boy and planned by the New Zealand Company, Nelson got started on the same belligerent footing as the Tasman landing. The poorly defined terms of land purchase from the Maori led to the 1843 Wairau Affray, a key incident in indigenous-colonial relations. With 25% of the original colonists gone within five years, the population numbered only 8,000 by 1900. It started to flower in the mid-20th century thanks to the Tasman microclimate, which favoured warm-weather crops such as tobacco and hops, as well as apples. The dulcet weather makes it a key retirement destination today.

Nelson in sound and vision

Mount Doom is actually a jeweller’s studio in downtown Nelson; Halfdan Hansen’s father, Jens, designed the 40 versions of the One Ring used in Peter Jackson’s blockbuster Lord of the Rings trilogy, something that still makes his son an informal “ambassador” for the city.

Key subculture

Jens Hansen established his business in the late 1960s when Nelson, starting with an influx of British potters, was becoming a significant arts and crafts centre. “A lot of my parents’ friends were bohemians,” says Halfdan. “They’d clearly left the UK because they wanted to get as far away as possible from the cold war and the threat of nuclear annihilation. New Zealand was a clean, green option.” The city’s artisanal remit now extends to jewellery, painting, glassblowing, beads, ceramics, calligraphy, Maori craftwork (despite the low indigenous population in the city) and a thriving craft beer scene. The artisanal lobby is a key part of the local economy, with many featuring on the new virtual-shopping site – the first such platform in New Zealand – showcasing 170 city-centre stores.

On the move

Nelson’s slender geographical profile – squashed between the sea and the Grampian foothills – makes redevelopment problematic, especially now the city is growing. Its main arteries, Waimea Road and the SH6, which funnel traffic from commuter towns such as Richmond to downtown Nelson and back, are congested. Hansen downplays the stress: “Instead of it taking half an hour for me to go home to [neighbouring wharf area] Mapua, it takes 45 minutes at peak traffic. It’s a first-world problem.” But the city council are taking it seriously. The Southern Link project proposes a new arterial route between the existing two, possibly in a tunnel, that could cost up to NZ$300m (£154m). First suggested 40 years ago, the construction would now possibly take place in the less affluent Nelson South district around Victory Square – which could stir up controversy. “We’d hide it where the poor people are, and then they’re the ones forced to breathe in the fumes,” says Hansen. “Though that might be a moot point in a few years with electric vehicles.”

What’s next for the city?

A city with a reputation as a retirement home, Nelson will continue to age. The number of citizens over 65 will double by 2043 to a third of the population; the median age will increase from about 42 currently to 51. Pensioners with disposable income are a short-term boon, says Hansen: “A lot of the economy here is driven by those older people. And they’re not feeling as old as they used to, so there’s a huge cycling boom. You go out on the weekend, and everybody’s out on their bicycles in their Lycra and helmets, stopping at cafes. Injecting money into that service economy.” But in the long term, the older generation are causing a bottleneck, especially on housing. Often living in under-occupied low-density properties when their children have left, they are contributing to a shortage of housing supply. High real-estate prices and cost of living then return to haunt their offspring. “It can be depressing if you’re young,” says Hansen. “If you’re thinking about coming back to Nelson and you can’t, because you can’t get a job or the houses are too expensive.”

Close zoom

The Nelson Mail, functioning almost since the first colonial days, is the local rag. This city-council-produced booklet tells you everything you need to know about its historical development, while there’s more – especially from the Maori perspective – at the Prow.

Do you live in Nelson? What key facts, figures and cultural highlights have we missed? Share your stories below